Wednesday May 27, 11:31 am Eastern Time
Company Press Release
SOURCE: Orckit Communications
Orckit ADSL Selected for Europe's First Commercial Deployment by
Telia, Sweden; Builds on successful 'Broadway Sundsvall' trial
TEL AVIV, May 27 /PRNewswire/ -- Telia, the national telephone carrier of Sweden announced that it has selected Orckit
Communications (Nasdaq: ORCTF - news) to supply its FastInternet(TM) ADSL systems for commercial deployment, to
enable fast Internet access for residential users and to offer wide-band services to community programs. According to the
multi-year agreement, Orckit will start deliveries of its FastInternet systems to Telia in the second quarter of this year.
End-users can access the Internet and on-line services and electronic commerce at speeds nearly 300 times faster than many
analog modems by utilizing Orckit's ADSL modems. ADSL, which stands for Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line, is a
transmission technology that enables multi-megabit data access on the existing copper telephone infrastructure.
Sweden, with a population of 9 million, has a high penetration of active Internet users, and represents the fourth largest
European analog modem market.
''We are pleased to have been selected by Telia for Europe's first commercial ADSL deployment,'' remarked Izhak Tamir,
President of Orckit. ''We expect the commercial availability of Orckit's FastInternet in Sweden to increase the use and demand
for high speed remote access and to enable Telia to give advanced services to its customers.''
''We place a high priority on interactive services, and we expect to have thousands of customers using our ADSL services in
the near future,'' remarked Clausen Claus, Vice President Telia Network Services. ''Our population is extremely interested in
high speed PC-based services. Deployment of Orckit's FastInternet system will enable us to significantly enhance our fast
Internet access, distance learning and telecommuting services, immediately.''
This ADSL deployment builds on the successful results of Telia's ''Broadway Sundsvall'' and ''Telia Flex'' trial for residential
and business users, respectively. Telia began utilizing Orckit's ADSL systems at the beginning of 1997 for this trial, and has
now successfully transitioned it into a commercial service deployment.
For the past year, residential customers could access live, broadcast quality radio, video and television streams in MPEG1
quality over the Internet, and University students have used Orckit's FastInternet to access ''Education on Demand'' services.
In addition, business customers are using the ''Telia Flex'' ADSL service to connect their remote offices with a VLAN (Virtual
Local Area Network) application. The new deployment will expand the business offerings to include a fast Internet access
service called ''Telia Mega.''
Breaking from most telecom operators' current deployment strategies in which the carrier supplies the modem together with the
high speed service, Telia offers the possibility to its residential customers to purchase the ADSL modem in one of the official
Telia stores, and to install it themselves. ''The Mid-Sweden University students in the Broadway Sundsvall trial found the
ADSL installation to be extremely straightforward when we included the installation guide and necessary equipment in the
ADSL modem package,'' remarked Mr. Claus of Telia. ''This self-installation is highly effective and easy for our subscribers,
and provides a significant cost and logistical savings for Telia.''
Orckit Communications is a leading company in the field of Digital Subscriber Line, or ''DSL,'' solutions, which enable
telephone companies and Internet Service Providers to optimize the bandwidth utilization of the ''last mile'' of copper wire in
the Local Loop. Orckit possesses both core silicon expertise and a wide range of DSL products, including its FastInternet(TM)
DSLAM System with ADSL and SDSL, and its CopperTrunk(R) HDSL and VDSL product lines. Orckit has key strategic
silicon alliances with Harris Semiconductor, Fujitsu Microelectronics and Rockwell Semiconductor Systems, and alliances with
telecom equipment providers Fujitsu Network Communications, SAGEM and Siemens' Public Communication Network
Group. For more information about Orckit and its DSL solutions, visit Orckit's web site at orckit.com.
Certain matters discussed in this news release are forward-looking statements that involve a number of risks and uncertainties
including, but not limited to, risks in product development plans and schedules, rapid technological change, changes and delays
in product approval and introduction, customer acceptance of new products, the impact of competitive products and pricing,
market acceptance, the lengthy sales cycle, proprietary rights of the Company and its competitors, risk of operations in Israel,
government regulation, dependence on third parties to manufacture products, general economic conditions and other risk
factors detailed in the Company's United States Securities and Exchange Commission filings. |
